Mobile-developed proteins in space; hurricane-resistant show home to debut 6 weeks ahead of season

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, makes a point during a town hall meeting in Grand Bay, Ala., on Monday, March 17, 2014. Byrne will tour Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley Tuesday, April 22, 2014.

MOBILE, Alabama – U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, will tour Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley today to “better understand how I can support further growth and expansion as our area’s representative in Washington.”

“Brookley equals jobs. That’s the message being heard loud and clear in Southwest Alabama as the Mobile Aeroplex continues to develop into an economic powerhouse in the region,” Byrne said.

Needless to say, I’ll report later this evening on any news that comes from his visit.

Out of this world research

A protein developed by researchers at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine took the inquiry to new heights Friday when it was launched into space as part of the SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station.

The enzyme, a protein phosphatase called PP5, launched on the Falcon 9 rocket and is contained in the DragonLab – the cargo craft attached to the top of the rocket. After being placed in incubators on the International Space Station, the protein is slated to return to Earth in about three-and-a-half months.

PP5 is one of 92 proteins produced by laboratories in the United States, England and Germany delivered to the station.

Richard E. Honkanen, a professor of biochemistry in the USA College of Medicine and the lead researcher on the PP5 project, said the protein is considered a validated target for anti-tumor drug development.

“Our studies in the past 15 years have revealed that PP5 is over-expressed in human breast cancer. In mouse models of tumor development, the over-expression of PP5 aids tumor growth,” Honkanen said.

More directly, Honkane said PP5 appears to provide at the cellular level a survival advantage to cancer cells in low oxygen.

“This may help the cancer cells stay alive in the early stages of metastatic disease; therefore, an inhibitor of PP5 may kill metastatic cancer cells before they start growing into new tumors,” he said.

The International Space Station, which serves as a microgravity research laboratory, will use the proteins to grow large crystals of PP5, allowing Honkanen’s lab to utilize an emerging technology called neutron crystallography, a very powerful technique for protein structure determination.

“For neutron crystallography, we need very big crystals, and to date this has not been done,” he said. “In theory, we will be able to grow bigger crystals in space than we can on Earth.”

Gina Gregory

Hargrove hires Gina Gregory

Hargrove Engineers + Constructors has hired Mobile City Council President Gina Gregory as community affairs leader, a role through which she is expected assist the firm’s leadership in strengthening relationships both within the local community and across the state.

Gregory, who was first elected to the council in 2005, succeeded three-term council president Reggie Copeland in November. Prior to joining Hargrove, she served as public relations director for MDi media group and as public relations director for the city of Mobile under Mayor Mike Dow.

Of course, many of you most likely remember her from her reporter and news anchor days, including her tenure with Mobile’s WKRG-TV.

Vicki Studstill, Hargrove’s vice president of relationship building and marketing, said Gregory’s background makes her the perfect fit to help share the company’s belief in “growing meaningful, long-term relationships” with teammates, clients and the community.

“Gina has demonstrated throughout her career that she has an innate ability to create those relationships. Gina’s unremitting commitment to serving the community and dedication to Mobile’s economic growth makes her an excellent fit for the Hargrove team,” Studstill said.

The festivities come about six weeks ahead of the official June 1 start of hurricane season, but the Gulf Shores-based company bills itself as the exclusive U.S. distributor for a “new type of affordable, resilient, and proven…building process that will provide safety to homes and their families against a variety of natural disasters.”

Check back later today, and I’ll show you what practices hurt your score, followed tomorrow with a double shot of tips for improving your credit and a few things you probably didn’t know about predatory lending practices.

With any luck, we’ll wrap things up Thursday with how to manage your credit score.

Kelli Dugan is a business reporter in Alabama Media Group’s Mobile hub, focusing primarily on aerospace and workforce development, but taking an occasional detour. Business Before Breakfast is an attempt to catch readers up on a variety of items while offering insights into the inner-workings of some of coastal Alabama’s more interesting industries. The column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. She can be reached at kdugan@al.com.